Awaken
by DreamingPioneer
Summary: Never trust a criminal. When the Joker got his hands on an trained assassin he thought he would have a bit of fun. But what if this assassin's master was someone else... Someone who wants the Joker's blood. But whose blood will be spilled first?
1. Falling from Nowhere

**Author's Note: I want to point out before you start reading this story that I planned this story a while ago. A few scenes that will appear eventually may resemble the new movie The Dark Knight Rises (Which btw was AMAZING! Go see it NOW!). They are not identical but they have similarities. I want to say that this was not intentional; I had been planning this story for a while before I had seen the movie last night.**

**Awaken**

**Falling from Nowhere**

The thunderclouds were heavy as the rain spilled over and poured down onto the streets of Gotham. The night sky flashed with anger and only for a few seconds at a time snatched the bat signal that shone bright and proud. The rain crashed onto a metal warehouse that stood on the edge of the Narrows, it was old and abandoned. Or so what was told to the people of Gotham who slept in their beds that night, trying to shut out the dark roars of the oncoming gale. For inside the warehouse, it echoed and called out.

"Tick Tock

Goes the clock

Soon it will be my turn,

Tick Tock

Goes the clock

We'll watch Gotham burn,"

A little girl sang as she brushed her dollies matted hair that was stained with blood. She sat on the cold ground in the empty warehouse. A flash of lightening showed her blooded smile and pale blue eyes.

_13 years later…_

The streets were alive with incoming traffic and late night parties at the gala. The buildings lit up like a Christmas tree on Christmas day as they loomed over the people of Gotham. A particular car that was driving calmly down the road stood out from the rest, everyone knew who that car belonged to. It belonged to Gotham's billionaire Bruce Wayne.

"I'm just merely suggesting Master Wayne that you stay a little later at these charity events instead of leaving so early," Alfred explained as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Alfred, I have to get back. Gotham needs Batman," Bruce explained as he peered out the window.

"Yes, but remember that you have to protect Bruce's image as well as the Batman's one sir. People will start asking questions as to why you leave these events so early. Some are already saying that you don't care for what the charities are doing." Alfred looked into his rear view mirror to look at Bruce.

"If they think me as heartless then let them," Bruce sighed as he thought about being Batman instead Bruce Wayne.

"You have a business to run that has kept a good name since your father founded it. It must remain like that in order for it to succeed Master Wayne," Alfred finished.

"And what do you suggest I do then Alfred?" Bruce asked with slight sarcasm but still was willing to hear Alfred answer. Alfred chuckled.

"Something good sir, something that will make Gotham think that Bruce Wayne cares for his city, without hiding behind a mask," Alfred added the last part on and congratulated himself for doing so, hoping that it will make Bruce think. Bruce nodded his head and thought about what he could do to help protect Batman's identity while fixing his own image. He took in a breath as he was about to reply to Alfred but suddenly there was a loud crash on the car's bonnet. Alfred quickly stomped on the brakes causing the car to screech to a halt. Bruce flew forwards but was caught by his belt, as was Alfred. Bruce's breathing became heavy as he stared at what had crashed onto the car. He got out and walked to the front of the car while his eyes were fixed on what was there. Alfred jumped out the car and joined him as they and bystanders on the streets stared in horror. For it was a girl, a girl who was covered in huge portions of blood, lying unconscious in the crater that had replaced the shiny flat bonnet of Bruce's car. Bruce looked up to see where she had fallen from, but all he could see were buildings that were at least 40 stories high. Alfred checked her pulse already knowing that there was no way she would have survived a fall like that. But his eyes went wider as he felt a mild thump of her heart.

"She's alive," He turned to Bruce who looked at him and then back to the girl.

…

Gotham General was chaotic at this time of night, people were getting injured all over Gotham and coming here. A gurney rushed by the chaos of the injured and in pain with the girl who was still unconscious. She was still covered in blood as they put the oxygen mask over her face. They turned the gurney around a sharp corner and into the nearest theatre. Bruce and Alfred had run behind it. They don't know who this girl was but the fact that she was still alive created questions, questions that she could only answer, if she survives the surgery.

Bruce watched as the doors of the theatre closed, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Suddenly the doors opened again and the gurney was being hauled somewhere else. Bruce looked at Alfred in confusion.

"Er… Excuse me? Where are you taking her?" He yelled at the people transporting her. A Doctor stopped and turned to them.

"To the recovery ward," he simply said.

"But she didn't have any surgery; you were only in there for a second." Bruce pointed out. The Doctor seemed uneasy.

"She appears to have… healed already. There was nothing to cure, there's nothing wrong with her." He tried to explain even though he didn't believe it.

"Nothing wrong with her? How could there be nothing wrong with her? From what I gathered she fell from a 40 story building, she dented the car so much that the engine is in the ground! She shouldn't even be alive." Bruce described with anger in his voice since he thought the people were being stupid and ridiculous.

"The x-rays show that she's perfectly fine," the Doctor simply stated. "I'll take you to where she will be kept," he offered as he walked away. Bruce and Alfred followed.

As they walked into the private room where she was, they saw her lying on the bed. She was awake. Her eyes were searching the room restlessly; she was still covered in blood, her blood.

"It's alright. There is no need to be alarmed. You were in an accident. Can you tell me your name?" The Doctor said as he entered the room and leaned closer to her. The girl looked at him with no expression on her face and then looked somewhere else, as if she completely ignored him.

"Miss?" The Doctor grazed her arm to get her attention, her head snapped to glare at his hand. She then glared at him. "Miss we need to know your name, do you know your name? Can you remember it?" he asked feeling uneasy with her glare digging into him.

"I don't have a name," she spoke in a monotone voice. The Doctor looked toward the others in the room.

"Is that because you can't remember it?" he leaned in closer again.

"I don't have a name," she repeated again in that same tone. Bruce watched her intently, trying to figure out her miraculous healing. The Doctor sighed and turned to Bruce.

"There is nothing physically wrong with her, we have no reason to keep her here. But if she's not giving us any information about herself we can't just release her. For all we know she might be under age." He spoke quietly to Bruce, completely aware that the girl was still glaring at him. Bruce looked at her and thought. The girl's stare shifted to him. They stared each other down until Bruce looked away.

"I'll take her," he said to the Doctor.

"Sir, we all do respect but you can't just simply take her," The Doctor explained. Bruce sighed.

"I'll look after her well, I have the money. I don't think we should let her be alone right now," Bruce whispered as he watched her glare at him.

"Master Wayne, I don't think this is a good idea," Alfred stepped in, the girl's glare moved to him.

"There's something about her that isn't right, besides you're the one who said to do something nice." Bruce quietly explained to him, he turned to the Doctor. "I'll take her in and send a missing file report. Someone will know something about her." Bruce charmingly requested. The Doctor thought for a second and then hesitantly nodded.

"Alright then," he sighed. Bruce gave him a fake smile just to add to his charm, and then he turned to face the girl who just stared at him with an emotionless expression.

…

The next morning the sky was clear and the birds were singing. A car pulled up to Wayne Manor right to its pebble flooring at the entrance gate. The girl got out of the car with a nurse by her side. She didn't look happy, with her agitated eyes she looked at the manor's exterior, every carving of stone and marble, every tree and patch of grass, she took it all in. The front doors creaked open as Alfred welcomed the new guest.

"I'll show you to your room ma'am," he politely said as he gave a gentle nod to the girl. She nodded slightly with the same default expression on her face. As Alfred led her to her room he couldn't help but notice how different she looked without all the blood covering her. Her skin was pale, deathly pale and her hair… her hair was white. She looked tired, deep purple bags laid under her eyes and she had a vertical permanent wrinkle on the bridge of her nose from her frowning and glaring.

"Here it is ma'am," he pointed out as they stood in front of her new bedroom door.

"Thank you Alfred," she spoke in her usual tone, "I'll take it from here," she insisted.

"Very well," he turned around and walked away. Once he had turned the corner the girl walked down the corridor in the opposite direction. She looked at the wood carving on the skirting of the walls and she smelt the scent of pine and dust. The girl came across a door that was slightly open, she peered through. It appeared to be a study; there was a grand piano on one side of the room and a row of bookcases at the far back. The girl walked in and looked around the room, she brushed the piano keys with her finger tips and then caught eye of something on the right wall of the study. A samurai sword. She gazed at its fine work, the sharpness of the sword was obvious to even the blind eye, and the handle was deep blue with a touch of gold for the end. It was beautiful. Without warning her head snapped to look at the bookcase, she sneaked over to it and analysed it up and down. She slowly put her ear up against the middle bookcase, she could hear…

"Ah there you are!" Bruce smiled as he walked into the room, ignoring the fact that she was in here without permission. The girl quickly turned to face him. Bruce looked her up and down, she looked severely ill due to her paling appearance and dressing gown clothing.

"Alfred is going to take you into town to get some clothes for your stay," He put on a friendly face for her since it was clear she didn't trust him from the glare she was giving him.

"I should get ready," she quietly said as she walked by him and back to her room. Bruce watched her go into her room and he looked back into his study. She was standing right in front of the entrance to the Batcave. He suddenly had second thoughts about letting her stay here. There was something wrong about this girl.

…

Alfred parked the car perfectly in Gotham City's Mall car park. The girl immediately took off her seat belt and leaned to the front driver's seat.

"I can go in on my own," she simply said. Alfred turned to look at her.

"Are you sure ma'am?" he asked in a questioning manner rather than worried one.

"Yes," she sharply said and then abruptly got out of the car and walked away. When the door slammed shut Alfred let out a long sigh.

The girl walked away from the car, looked straight ahead at all times. She turned the corner and then stopped and looked at the entrance of the mall. Then peered to her left which was a long road leading away from the area. She looked to where Alfred's car would be and then looked back to the road and started walking.

As she walked at a fast pace, she remained facing dead ahead. She didn't stop for traffic, she didn't move out of other people's ways and she didn't look at her surroundings. She knew exactly where she was going. She stopped for a second and looked at the bridge that led to the Narrows that lay before her. The girl looked to either side of her and started walking across the bridge.

After walking passed homeless people, drunken fools and people looking for trouble and ignoring each one of them and them ignoring her, she had made it to an old market where stalls were set out, long thick cloths were hanging from everywhere; people called out to customers but ignored her. She swiftly turned the corner and walked down an alley. On the left a few feet down were some gated stairs. She opened the Iron Gate that screeched and walked down at a slower pace. It got darker and the smell of smoke entered her nostrils. She calmly continued to walk even though some people started staring at her as she moved passed them.

She knocked a special pattern on a door, it immediately opened. As she walked in it closed behind her.

"Master," she bowed to a man whose back was turned to her. He raised his head and slowly turned around. The well suited man had wrinkles, wrinkles of time itself, a beard that fell off his chin and a mystery about him that no one could ever solve. This man was known by one name… Ra's Al Ghul.

"You have returned, I expected you sooner," he said in a calm voice.

"Forgive me Master," She stood like a solider would stand.

"_Find the centre and focus. Be the centre and focus," Ra's Al Ghul ordered as he watched his white haired student balance on the beam that stood on the roof of one of the many skyscrapers that loomed over Gotham. The wind was at its worst at night, the student fought against it. She would not fail this training exercise. She lifted one leg off the tip of the beam and balanced herself._

"_Don't fight the wind, use it!" Ra's Al Ghul called to her._

"_Yes Master" she yelled back. Her arms were spread out to help balance her, her leg was extended behind her. Suddenly a large gust of wind shoved her, she lost balance, her arms flailed the air hoping to grab something but they didn't. She fell silently down from the 48__story building. Ra's Al Ghul watched as she collided with the ground and simply turned away and went back inside the skyscraper._

"Forgive me Master," She stood like a solider would stand.

"You are forgiven." He looked her up and down, "But are you ready?" he asked. She looked him in the eyes as did he.

"I will not rest until my mission is complete," she stated.

"Then you are ready. We shall go to him tomorrow," Ra's Al Ghul nodded with a smirk on his face. The girl kept her stern look and nodded. Then turned and walked away.

…

**That's the first chapter done! Woot Woot! XD I know I know, WTF is going on! Well you'll just have to read on and find out! XP**

**Hope you enjoyed it, review pretty please. THANK YOU! ^.^**


	2. Never Judge by First Glance

**Never Judge by First Glance **

It was mid-afternoon when Ra's Al Ghul and the girl pulled up to one of the hundreds of warehouses in the area, along with some of Ra's Al Ghul's henchmen. Aside from Ra's who wore a suit, they all wore black armour with a deeper black material underneath that covered their arms and leg. It was the same for the girl as well but she also had a black wrap about her waist, similar to a kimono. As they all walked, their shoes kicked up stones. They all had stern facial expressions; they were not a force to be reckoned with.

The large metal door slid to the right, causing a fierce echo to ring out in the warehouse. The girl couldn't help but think that she had been here before. The room was huge and empty, there was no furniture sitting within it, not even crates. However standing in the middle of the room was a group of men, muscular bodybuilding men.

"I'd like to speak to him," Ra's Al Ghul called out to the group as they all turned to him and suddenly felt uneasy. They knew what kind of henchmen were with Ra's Al Ghul, trained assassins, while the men who were huddled together were just brutes with guns.

The trained assassins continued to walk until the warehouse let out a piercing echo. A sound that people feared, a laugh that once let out meant people would die. The group of brutes parted in the centre and a man walked out in purple and green, a man that from a distance looked like he was smiling a gruesomely large smile.

"Tha**t** will be me?" he laughed as he showed no fear, for he didn't have any.

"We have come to finalize our agreement Joker; I believe you know what I'm talking about." Ra's Al Ghul said calmly as they continued to walk to the group.

"Hmmm let me thin**k**. It's been thirteen years so my memory is a little...uh hazy." The Joker grinned.

As the two groups met they stood facing each other. The Joker's face became clearer at a closer distance, his scars became more detailed and horrific but it didn't affect the girl or Ra's.

"Refresh my memory," he continued to grin as he crossed his arms. Ra's Al Ghul hesitantly walked forwards and went closer to the Joker so he could speak clearer. Even though the Joker was known to be rather tall, Ra's seemed to tower over him.

"13 years ago, we made an agreement. I kidnap a child and raise it to become one of the best assassins in the League of Shadows. Then hand them over to you," Ra's Al Ghul spoke quietly, almost to a whisper. The girl wasn't listening since she was focused on keeping an eye on the brutes that stood before her and the other assassins. The Joker was known to be crafty, she had to stay alert.

"Ah ye**s**," the Joker recalled, "Now I… uh remember a large sum of my mone**y** disappearin**g**… Well more like Gotham Banks money," he chuckled. Ra's Al Ghul scoffed with him, but more to humour him than anything else.

"So where is this so called mighty assassin?" The Joker clapped his hands as he walked by Ra's Al Ghul and looked over to the group of trained killers as if he was in a candy store choosing his treat. Ra's nodded to the crowd which caused the girl to step forwards.

"The girl?" The Joker sounded unimpressed, "Really?" he whined.

"You don't think the girl could be good enough?" Ra's questioned. The Joker chuckled to himself as he went in front of the girl and looked down to her.

"She's a little shor**t**…" The Joker poked her but she didn't move, she just remained looking ahead as if he wasn't there.

"Never judge something by a first glance," Ra's calmly spoke as he watched the Joker closely.

"And what is with the hair?" The Joker exclaimed as he ignored Ra's Al Ghul's statement and pulled the girl's white hair. "I mean I know about bleach but did you just dunk her head in a bucket of i**t**?" He burst out laughing causing the girl to blink.

"Her training was severe." Ra's explained. The Joker stood back and took a better look at her as he sucked his scars.

"I sup**p**o**s**e though… The real question would be…uh how good is she?" The Joker looked over at Ra's with an evil smirk. Ra's nodded at his men and as he did they all turned away and left the warehouse, leaving himself and the girl behind. The Joker sniggered as they left and lifted his arm to signal to his henchmen.

"Kill her," he ordered with a grin. He walked away and stood next to Ra's. The girl's eyes flickered to Ra's who nodded again and then she returned facing forward. The Joker's henchmen circled her and raised their loaded rifles. The girl turned her head slightly to check her sides, she definitely was surrounded. Her arms hugged her hips and were in a cross position, she bent her legs slightly.

The henchmen looked at each other and simultaneously fired. The girl whipped out two hidden samurai swords, stabbed them into the hard concrete and flipped herself in the air. Several henchmen were hit with the opposite's bullets and fell to the floor. As the girl came back down she yanked the swords back out from the earth and summersaulted to a sector of the circle that were still remaining. She instantly slashed her sword at one of the henchmen and kicked a gun out of another ones hands that stood behind her. Then twisted to stab him but someone from the other side of the circle fired their rifle so she shifted the dead guy in her sword and used him as a shield from the bullets. After the storm of bullets had ended she pushed the guy down and flipped over him so her sword came out easily.

Three henchmen ran at her at the same time, but she just bent her legs and jumped whilst spinning with her arms out so the swords slashed them all. They dropped to the floor. Another henchman raised his gun, she turned around and threw her weapon at him for he was too far away and it cleaning went through. With her one sword she ran passed a small group of them running towards her, she turned and twisted her way through but all the while cutting them through their stomachs.

One henchman had run back for a better distance and raised his gun and fired, she snapped her head to him and hastily dived out of the way and rolled then ran. With her free hand she grabbed something out of the inner pocket of her outfit and threw with such force. It was a small knife and it flew straight and fast right across the room and penetrated the gunman's forehead. She summersaulted once more passed the corpse that had been hit with her samurai sword and yanked it out. With the two swords she jumped into the air and slashed another henchman, then right after her feet touched the ground she rotated a full 360 and slashed another.

Finally she drove her sword into the ground, flipped and pulled it back out and finished in front of the Joker with her knees bent further down and one arm pointing outward with one sword and the other in front of her.

The Joker looked at her with a serious face and raised his gun.

"**B**ang," he mocked. The girl's eyes moved down to look at his tie. The Joker followed her stare and saw that it had been cut into two and the lower half was on the floor. The Joker looked back up at her, as did she, and knew that if she had wanted to kill him then she would have done before he had even raised his weapon. He instantly grinned at the thought and then looked around the room. All of his henchmen were dead.

"Well I guess she'll do," he shrugged. Ra's smirked and agreed with him. The girl stood up straight and cleaned her swords then put them away. The Joker turned to Ra's Al Ghul.

"I'll take her," he smirked.

"Very well," Ra's bowed slightly.

"Does she have a name?" The Joker pointed to the girl as she stood still.

"She doesn't have one," Ra's answered. The Joker looked at the girl with a confused look but then changed it to a thoughtful one.

"Well how many kids did you… " He stopped himself before he used the wrong word in front of the girl. "How many did you train until you got her," he asked.

"22 children. None of them survived the training," Ra's recalled. The girl stayed looking straight with her stern look.

"Well then, I'll… uh call her 23," the Joker announced. The girl's eyes looked at the Joker. "Your name is 23! Simply and easy to remem**b**e**r**!" he laughed.

"23," the girl repeated.

"Very well. You shall be called 23," Ra's ordered as he began to walk away. "She is all yours Joker," he said as he walked. "Oh but before you do I need to confirm with her," Ra's said as the girl walked to him, away from the Joker.

"Master," she spoke quietly.

"Remember your mission," he commanded.

"Kill the Joker but only after I find out the locations of the other criminals in Gotham. Then kill them too." She stated with her monotone voice.

"Good, the Joker is another person that is ruining this city's environment, along with his criminal friends. If anyone knows where they are, it will be him. You'll do the work behind the scenes while I create the illusion and draw Gotham' attention so you can attack quicker but quietly in the background." Ra's put a hand on her shoulder and nodded. 23 looked to him and then to the Joker who was lazily kicking one of his men who lay dead on the floor. Ra's swiftly turned and left the warehouse. 23 didn't look back.

The Joker noticed him leave and grinned.

"Now 23! We're going to have some fun," he clapped and continued to grin his yellow grin.

"Yes Master," She slightly bowed.

…

**Woot woot next chapter up… It's a wee bit short but I'll make up for that later on. Trust me!**

**Please review! Pretty please, I'd love to know what you think of it so far. **

**Also I want to say thank you to Zeny who is the first to review! Soooo thank you! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you are enjoying it so far! ^.^**


	3. Master or Joker?

**Master or Joker?**

"And **h**ere we **a**re!" The Joker announced as he flung his arms in the air. 23 looked around the Joker's hideout. They were in an old musical theatre but it was clearly abandoned years ago. 23 listened out for voices or footsteps, anything that signalled that there were others here with them. But she couldn't hear anything, not a sound.

"There's no one here," she concluded to the Joker. He looked at her then chuckled.

"Well you did kill all my henchmen," he laughed. The girl watched as he had his laughing fit, she was drawn to look at his scars. They formed a smiling face but where healed badly and crooked. "But for future referen**ce**, leave the killing of my henchmen to me. Understan**d**?" The Joker's voice suddenly turned dark. 23 looked into his eyes with no fear from his threat and simply nodded.

"What happened to you calling me 'Master'? It had a nice ring to i**t**!" he suddenly laughed again. His mood swings were very rapid and irregular. 23 noted that down in her mind for later, after all Ra' Al Ghul said to kill him after she's found the whereabouts of Gotham's other top criminals. So she needs to learn about her enemy before doing anything. Her eyes were shifting around so she could learn her surroundings better, the Joker noticed this.

"Why don't you have a… uh look aroun**d**?" The Joker crossed his arms.

"Yes Master," she nodded. The Joker smirked as she walked passed him to search the premises.

The girl slowly walked down one of the corridors of the theatre and saw cobwebs and dust. She sniffed twice and could spell dampness on the walls. She came across a door that was open a crack, so she peered in, all she could see was the darkness. As she walked in her hand grazed the wall to find a light switch, but instead she found a lever. So she pulled it down, causing a low rumbling noise to start and echo through the room she was in. From the amount of echo that was bouncing off the walls, 23 guessed that this room was rather large. Suddenly the lights turned on and it was revealed that 23 was right, the room was rather big since it was the stage area. It looked dull and gloomy now, rows of seats were pulled up, the curtains had been torn down and the backdrop was just a white sheet of paper with a Joker face smeared on it. 23 walked down the aisle towards the stage and looked around whilst doing it.

She climbed on the stage and looked up to the ceiling and then to the ghost audience that watched her. She acknowledged that there was a lot of space on the stage so she thought she could take advantage of that. She drew out one of her swords and started practising some of her moves.

She held the sword in front of her face and looked straight on, then swiftly twirled on the spot and stabbed the sword into the stage and flipped over it. She went flying forwards, as she landed she kicked the air with a high kick and then punched behind her, then jumped backwards on her side and twisted repeatedly at a rapid speed until she finished in front of the sword and hauled it out of the wood again and cut the air fiercely.

Suddenly a single slow applause filled the room. The girl snapped her head towards the source and saw that it was the Joker leaning on the doorframe of the stage area.

"Impre**ss**i**v**e," he grinned as he began to walk down the aisle. The girl put her sword away and watched as he made his way onto the stage.

"You have good skills with those sword**s**, your choice of weapon I assume?" The Joker asked with a smirk but the girl didn't respond, she just glared at him which caused him to scoff.

"I like to use a knife," he raised his knife out of his pocket. "It's like your sword, just smaller and easier to travel with," he suddenly burst out laughing. 23 just continued to glare.

Without warning, half way through the Joker's laugh he lunged forward in an attempt to stab the girl but she speedily jumped to the side and slammed her elbow down against his arm that was going by her, which triggered the Joker to bend his arm up. She then wrapped her arm around his and disarmed him.

There was silence as the knife hit the stage and echoed across the theatre. The Joker looked at her with a slight look of shock but his face changed to an evil smirk. He started to chuckle to himself as he got out of her hold and then began to cackle.

"You're goo**d**," he pointed to her as he grinned.

"I've trained for 13 years," She said in her typical tone of voice. 23 walked up to the Joker knife that sat on the floor and picked it up. "I know how to fight with swords, guns, fists and many other ways. All thanks to Ra's Al Ghul," She continued as she gave him his knife.

"Very impre**ss**i**v**e," the Joker raised an eyebrow as he put his knife back in his pocket. "I bet it wasn't… uh easy," he analysed as he walked by the girl to look at the side stage.

"It was necessary." 23 simply said as he watched the Joker's back. The Joker sniggered.

"Wow he's really got you under his spell hasn't he?" He chuckled.

"Excuse me?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh nothing," The Joker turned back around, "Now I bet you're wondering why I wanted you in the first pla**ce**, righ**t**?" He leaned in closer to the girl who just stood there.

"It had crossed my mind," she answered as their faces were rather close. To anyone else it would have been an awkward distance but the girl just stood her ground. The Joker liked her bravery but at the same time found it irritating that he didn't seem threatening to her. But he smiled at what he was about to say, knowing that he would get some kind of reaction from the unresponsive girl.

"You see I made a deal with Ra's himself to… uh train up an assassin. That assassin turns out to be yo**u**," he started to walk around her. The girl nodded to agree with him as she kept alert if he made many sudden movements. "So ultimately, he taught you everything he knew. After all, 13 years is a l**on**g ti**me**. This makes you the perfect person for a job that** I** nee**d** do**ne**." He was standing behind her, she didn't turn but she braced herself if he tries something.

"What job would you like me to do Master?" She asked looking straight ahead. The Joker giggled behind her.

"I need you to… **k**ill… Ra'**s**. A**l**. Ghu**l**." He spoke in her ear, her eyes widened slightly but she instantly blinked and exhaled a long breath and went back to her default expression.

"May I ask why Master?" She turned her head slightly to face him.

"It's said that Ra's Al Ghul knows the identity of the Batma**n**," His voice went darker as he spoke Batman's name. The girl was confused since she didn't know who this Batman character really was, she has only heard stories. "If he ever decided to reveal that identity then it would ruin my fu**n**!" He stamped his foot like a child who didn't get what they wanted. "So I want him gone. I would do it myself but that old c**oo**t is too advanced in the way of a ninja that I can't lay one finger on him," The Joker sounded frustrated but that instantly changed as he grinned at the girl. "That's where you come in," he walked towards her. "He's trained you, you know his moves, so you can fight him. You could even wi**n**." The Joker smirked. 23 looked up at him and sighed.

"Very well," she finally said. The Joker's grin grew bigger.

"G**ood**," he said menacingly.

The Joker's mood changed instantly again as he looked at his golden pocket watch. His eyes narrowed as he saw the time, then they looked at the girl and then back to the watch. He sniggered to himself.

"How about we introduce you to… uh the Batman?" He smiled excitedly, "I'm sure he'd be **thr**illed to meet you," he burst out laughing. The girl noticed the time on his watch as it swung on him as he continued to laugh, it was late evening time.

"Yes Master," she said as his laughing died down. The Joker pretended to wipe a tear from his eye to add to the effect of laughing so much.

"Brillian**t**, this will be fun!" He cheered as he jumped off the stage, the girl followed. She jumped and landed far more gracefully than he did.

"You can drive!" he called behind him as he threw a set of van keys to the girl. The girl caught them and looked down at them.

"I'm sorry Master," she said as she stopped walking. The Joker stopped and turned around to look at the girl.

"Wha**t**? What is i**t**?" He asked impatiently as he strode to her.

"I can't drive." She answered as she looked him in the eyes.

"Why?" He leaned in with an annoyed face.

"I was never taught to drive. Ra's Al Ghul forbids vehicles that harm the environment." She explained a she gave back his keys. The Joker gave an over exaggerated sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Of course he would," he said to himself, "Well I'll drive then, and you're… uh coming with me," He grinned as he grabbed 23's wrist and dragged her along. She didn't fight back because she knew it wasn't threatening, it was just the Joker being 'funny'.

"You're a trained assassi**n** who could kill a room full of people in minutes, but you can'**t** dri**ve**!" He laughed at the joke as he continued to haul the girl out of the theatre.

"I'm sorry Master," she said in a serious manner as she followed.

"Luckily your flaw doesn't outweigh your fighting skills. We'll need those when the Batman shows u**p**." He grinned.

"Yes Master," She agreed, not really knowing what to expect.

…

**Next chapter done ^.^ Woot woot! **

**Want to say thank you again to Zeny! I love hearing what you think! Sooo thank you! And sorry 23 doesn't have a phone XS **

**Also I'd like to say thank you to Wildbillslady for following this story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter =D**

**PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE! I realllly want to know what you think! Danke! ^.^v**


	4. Show Him What You Can Do

**Show Him What You Can Do**

The night grew old and the streets of Gotham were empty now that everyone was sound asleep in their beds. The only sound that would be heard was the distance roar of traffic in the Narrows. That is until a much louder roar bellowed down the street from a vehicle that's painted black, has no license plate and looked like a high tech army machine. The Batmobile.

"Alfred, I'm going to be late back," Bruce said on his intercom in the vehicle as one of his hands was on the gear stick and the other on the wheel.

"That doesn't surprise me in the least," Alfred joked, "May I ask why Master Wayne?" Alfred replied in an electric voice.

"The Joker is up to something, I haven't figured out what yet." Bruce explained as he typed some coordinates onto his touchscreen on the panel in front of him. "He has been spotted in one of the factories in the area," he continued as he pressed a few buttons that were placed over head in his vehicle whilst keeping his eyes on the road. "Is there any news of the girl," he changed the subject knowing the answer already.

"I'm afraid not sir," Alfred said in a sad voice since he blames himself for losing her in the car park the day of her disappearance.

"Don't worry Alfred, we'll find her. If we don't we will have some explaining to do to the hospital," Bruce tried to comfort Alfred until he saw the destination to where he was going to up ahead.

"I have to go, I'll talk to you later," he said as he turned off the intercom and parked the Tumbler down an alley next door to the destination. As he climbed out of the vehicle he scanned the area for any life signs. It signalled that someone was just aimlessly wondering around in the building next to him. It was an old factory, which is still in use but closed up for the night. Bruce knew there should be a person guarding the factory at night but also knew that he'd probably be dead by now because the Joker is walking around in there. He looked up at the building and put his mask on securely as he walked through the unlocked front door.

Bruce knew something was up, the Joker has no henchmen with him, has no ridiculous death count for today and his location was found in a blink of an eye. He wants to be caught.

As Bruce, now posing as Batman, walked into the factory he was almost immediately in the largest room in the building. It was full of large machinery that had been turned off for tonight and its surrounding walls had layers of floors built into them. Batman used his eyes and looked at things that the Joker could use against him if tonight got bloody. The only things that could cause concern were the heavy machinery around him.

"So you picked up my little… signal then?" The Joker's voice echoed around the room. Batman instantly stopped in his tracks and braced himself for any surprises.

"Show yourself," he growled as he hastily looked around the room.

"I'm so thrilled that you did. We've needed a catch-me-up sessions for wee**ks**," the Joker grinned as he listened for the Batman. "So how are you?" Joker laughed evilly.

"Show yourself!" Batman ordered again but with more anger in his voice. The Joker constantly annoyed him and enraged him, one day he will be put away for good.

"That's what you do right **B**atman? Ruining all my fun," The Joker cackled as he turned around and leaned off one of the machines and went into the Batman's view. Batman looked at him with his unamused face and prepared to start sprinting towards him. The Joker smirked as he watched the Batman get ready to fight.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for a fist fight with you," he chuckled and straighten up his tie, "I'm here to introduce you to new friend of mine," The Joker grinned as he saw the Batman's eyes squinted out of confusion.

"You see Bats, I find that criminals are getting so…" The Joker licked his scars, "Competitive these days. It's hard to keep u**p**." The Joker started slowly walking forwards, Batman stood his ground glaring at him, unaware of a lurking shadow behind him.

"Especially when they have… unfair advantage**s**. Like man eating plant**s**, Crocodile ski**n** or crazy ninja skill**s**." He giggled and then calmed down but still walked. "So I thought I'd raise the stak**es**." He pulled out a Joker card and held it in front of him facing the Batman, "Even if it is… unfair!" He burst out laughing. Batman just stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. He breathed a heavy breath due to his impatience and stormed forwards to take a hit at the Joker. He wanted him apprehended and off the streets, so Bruce could sleep easier at night… For a little while at least. The Joker was still laughing with his eyes shut; he didn't notice the Batman storming towards him.

Batman raised him arm with a clenched fist ready to beat the Joker to a pulp. As it came crashing down and Batman's satisfaction was getting ready to rise, it suddenly stopped. There was another hand blocking his. Batman looked down to his left where the blockage had come from. His eyes widened as he saw the same glaring eyes from a few days before. He instantly stood back away from the girl that appeared out of nowhere.

"It can't be," he mumbled under his breath, too quiet to be heard. The Joker calmed down instantly after her appearance and looked at the shocked Batman.

"Don't you just love her?" he laughed as he patted her on the head, she glared at the Joker but ignored it and stared back at Batman. "She's so weird!" He laughed louder as he skipped around the girl then towards Batman.

"What have you done to her?" he growled as he analysed her with his eyes for any injuries.

"Nothing, it's impossible to… uh lay a finger on her. That's going to get old pretty fas**t**," The Joker whispered to him with frustration in his voice. He turned to look at the girl who was standing still but still had the glaring daggers that were her eyes. The Joker scoffed and nodded his head as he turned to the Batman, he suddenly had an idea.

"Why don't you try to lay one finger on her Bats? I'm sure you'll have a better chance than me," he giggled as he lightly bounced up and down on the concrete floor. Batman exhaled through his nose and thought what he could do in this situation. There was no way he was going to fight the girl, it wouldn't be right, not after taking her in. Batman lowered his head as the Joker's insane giggling started pounding in his skull causing him to get a headache. He swiftly grabbed a Batarang from his belt and threw it at the Joker to shut him up.

As the Batarang flew through the air Batman expected to hear it collide with the Joker's skin but instead he heard it collide with metal. He snapped his head up to see what had happened to his target. The Joker had stopped giggling and was darkly smirking at Batman, looking over the head of the girl who was standing in front of him with a sword raised. Had she stopped the Batarang?

"Impossible," Batman whispered.

"What's the matter Bats? Are you surprised? Shocked? Stunne**d**? " The Joker cocked his head to the side and kept his mischievous smirk. Batman remained silent. The Joker scoffed and leaned forward so that he was next to 23's ear.

"Show him what you can do," he whispered with a yellow grin. 23 nodded and put away her sword then stood up straight with her legs shoulder width apart. Batman kept his stare as he bent his knees slightly and raised his fists. He was ready. He was aware that she will be impressive, he's going to have to defend himself.

23 instantly broke into a sprint towards him, leading the Joker to start laughing hysterically. As she got near enough to Batman, he tried to punch her but she dodged his fist by sliding on the floor underneath his attack. Still sliding, she twisted back around and jumped up high to then come crashing down on his back with her elbow raised. Batman let out a grunt then swiftly turned to use his forearm to bash her away. He hit her in the face and she backed away slightly then jumped forwards to punch him. He swiftly used his forearm to push the punch off target, she tried again with the other arm but he did the same thing. She then kicked him in the chin as she flipped herself backward causing his head to abruptly look up. In that split second 23 leaped towards Batman and crossed her wrists with her fists and slammed them into his hip. This caused him to punch up making her look up sharply as well but she bit her tongue in the process. She coughed and felt a small amount of blood in her mouth from her new tongue wound but ignored it. She ran towards him and somersaulted over him. When she was above him she grabbed his neck and pulled him back so he landed on his back with a thud. Batman saw her coming back so he threw a black can into the air that came from his belt. It hit the floor and instantly exploded with a huge amount of white smoke.

Batman got up and looked around, the smoke was thick, and the girl wouldn't be able to find him, not in this fog. Suddenly there was a yell and 23 appeared from behind and jumped onto his back and wrapped her arm around his neck, he quickly spun around to get her off. But it didn't work, she had a good old onto him. So he charged at the machinery, he remembered where it stood. As he collided with it the girl let out a yelp. His eyes started watering because he couldn't breathe so he did it again, she yelled again and let go. The smoke began to clear as Batman powerfully turned to punch her, but she shifted to the left causing him to hit the machinery instead, he tried again but she dodged to the right causing more damage to the equipment. She rapidly grabbed his shoulders and collided her head into his; they both let out a cry from the pain. He pulled himself together and punched her in the stomach causing her to bend forwards slightly so he grabbed her by the top and spun around to slam her back into the machinery. The loud metal clang echoed around the room and the smoke was almost clear.

Batman stepped back as the girl got back up weakly. She turned to face him and let out a war cry and speedily turned 360 degrees and tried to kick him. He grabbed her ankle; she almost looked stunned by his counter attack. Then he flipped her so she fell to the floor with a thud once more. She pushed herself up but Batman wrapped his arm around her neck and lifted her up himself, and since she was shorter them him she was lifted off the ground. She struggled and her breathing got heavy with anger.

"Listen…" he started. She ignored him, grabbed his arm that was around her neck and used it for balance. She brought her legs up and curled her body so that they rested on Batman's shoulders. Then she clamped her thighs around his head. Batman tried to keep hold of her but by using his head as grip she hauled herself up, due to the new angle her head was in within his hold she slid right out and ended on the Batman's shoulders. The Joker stared with amazement.

23 quickly looked over to the Joker and then back down to the Batman and instantly elbowed his skull, he groaned and grabbed her legs. She did it again in the same spot which made him grunt louder. He hastily bent right over to flip the girl off of him. She went flying forwards but before she properly left his body she curled her body again, grabbed his neck and flipped him forwards instead. Batman flew forwards and smashed his head on the hard concrete floor while the girl landed in a sitting position his her legs out. She wasn't impressed with her landing. Batman pushed himself up but 23 rapidly jumped onto his back, drew out a dagger from her ankle and wrapped her arm around his neck ready to slash through.

Without warning a loud shotgun fire went off and the warehouse rang with its terrible sound. The girl flew backwards, letting go of the dagger in the process. She laid on the floor wheezing and looked down at her torso. She had been shot by the shotgun.

"No, no, no you don't kill hi**m**!" The Joker roared at her as he stomped over. Batman rushed over to her as she was panting in pain. He looked at her top that was covered in a puddle of blood and that was still growing. He carefully lifted her top up which caused her to hiss in pain, then he applied pressure on her wounds.

"I need to take her to the hospital!" He barked at the Joker who was standing behind him laughing. He looked at the laughing criminal and gave him a quick glare then looked back at the girl. His eyes grew wide, her wounds were gone. It was just spots of blood over her now, no entry holes from the pellets. The girl was back to glaring at him but still breathing heavily. Batman looked at her in confusion. He soon snapped out of it as the Joker slammed his shotgun over his head. Batman instantly got up and ran after the Joker.

"I've only seen that sort of healing in one other person! In Ra's Al Ghul! She's been to the Lazarus Pits!" He yelled after him.

"I guess you're just going to have to talk to him about that!" The Joker called back in a sing-song tune. Batman stopped running to gather what had happened. "Oh and by the way! Her name is 23! Look her up!" The Joker's laughter filled the factory but soon faded since the Joker was getting further and further away. Batman ran back to 23 for more answers but she wasn't there, there was no trace of her.

Batman looked down to where she had lay dying only moments before and sighed. It was silent again in the factory, the Joker was gone. Batman pressed against the area where his ear would be under the mask.

"Alfred, the Joker has the girl. She's working for him and has a connection to Ra's Al Ghul. We need to find out what is going on before someone gets hurt." He finished as he looked over to the dagger she had left behind that sat only metres away from him.

He knew the styling on the dagger, he had seen it before. It was only used by one place, the image of the dragon on it only meant one thing.

The League of Shadows.

…

**Thank you to Psyche444 and Fall-Back-Down for following this story! You are both AWESOME! **

**Thank you all for reading so far, I hope you're liking it! ^.^v**


	5. Something Went Terribly Wrong

**Author's Note: I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the long wait, bt I'm here now and back to writing now that I've found the plan! ENJOY! :)**

**Something Went Terribly Wrong**

The stage room in the Theatre echoed harshly with a sound of a cold slap and a sudden sharp breath.

"You **n**ever kill the Batma**n**! Loo**k** a**t** m**e**!" The Joker barked at 23 who slowly turned her fresh cheeked face back to face him. Anger filled up inside her and spilled over with her livid glare.

"Never do tha**t** aga**in**," he growled darkly as he leaned closer to her furious face. They glared each other down, there was silence around them but the air was thickly intense. The Joker briskly back handed her again but this time he missed as 23 ducked suddenly, grabbed the gun that was hidden under his coat and pressed it into his jaw.

"Never do that again," she repeated coldly. The silence returned for a moment as the Joker's impressed stare went against her powerful glare. His face softened and turned into a laughing one. She watched him closely and still held the gun towards him. As the Joker continued to laugh and fill the building with his cackles, someone stood in the doorway.

23's eyes shifted to the door and she stood up straight and lowered her weapon. The Joker calmed down and looked down to her. He suddenly grew confused as to what she was staring at but as he followed her stare, his eyes grew wider but instantly returned to his grinning face.

"Checking up on us, are we?" he called out to the figure in the door as he raised an eyebrow. They stepped forwards out of the looming darkness that was coming from the corridor behind them. The well suited figured appeared to be Ra's Al Ghul.

"I was just seeing if you were putting my student to good use," he said as he walked down the stage aisle holding a cane but not actually using it.

"Your studen**t**? I thought she… uh belonged to me now?" The Joker smirked as he crossed his arms

"Of course," Ra's easily agreed as he went onto the stage to meet the pair. As they formed a group the Joker looked down to 23.

"Leave us," he ordered to her. Her eyes flickered to Ra's Al Ghul who gently nodded at her and then looked back at the Joker.

"Yes Master," she bowed and jumped off the stage to exit the room. When she was out of sight and well distanced from Ra's Al Ghul and the Joker, the Joker turned to face the well suited man.

"You know… She's alrigh**t**. It was funny though, I thought it would be fun to put her up against dear old Batty…" The Joker placed a gloved finger on his chin, as if to seem like he was pondering something.

"Ah the detective, how did she do?" Ra's asked with a serious face but with a slightly cocked head to the side.

"She was good, I'll give you tha**t**," He lazily pointed at Ra's. "But the whole… Not dying when I shot her thing, was rather annoying," The Joker rolled his eyes.

"May I ask what the girl did to earn your gunfire?" Ra's asked as he watched the clown intently.

"She tried to kill the Ba**t**," he started to laugh, "I find it more fun to play with a Bat that's ali**ve**," He licked his scars.

"Understood," Ra's bowed, "She will behave better next time," He calmly continued. The Joker scoffed and turned to walk to the backstage area. Ra's watched as he was leaving.

"Doesn't it fascinate you, how she healed so fast? No mark what so ever…" He called out to the Joker who stopped in his tracks. The Joker sucked his scars as he thought for a second and twisted around to face him.

"Immortality is a tricky thing to fin**d**… But not for you of course," The Joker started walking towards Ra's again. "You took her to the Lazarus **P**i**t**." He analysed as he came to a halt.

"Ah, the Lazarus Pit doesn't process the power of immortality," Ra's darkly explained, "It can merely turn back time on a body, and even resurrect the dead," Ra's stared into the Joker's dark eyes, as if he was trying to look into his mind, knowing full well that he wouldn't succeed.

"They say that you're… uh 100's of years old," The Joker looked him up and down, "Looking good for your age old man," The Joker started to laugh.

"Yes, I do use the Lazarus Pits. But it still didn't give me the power of immortality," Ra's Al Ghul said as he turned to look into the audience of dust and cobwebs. "Something went… Terribly wrong…"

… "_Keep your footing light," Called Ra's Al Ghul as his sword collided with the girl's one. She jumped back, and landed on two wooden pillars. The entire floor was made up of them, if the girl slips then she will fall into the darkness below. _

"_Face the enemy at all times," Ra's called out again. The girl watched Ra's intently, her forehead glistened with sweat and her faded brunette hair was tied up. They stared each other down._

_The girl let out a short battle cry and swiftly jumped from each wooden cylinder to the next, in a zig-zag pattern, sped right passed Ra's and came from behind. But Ra's was too quick, their swords collided once more._

"_It'll take more than agility to defeat your opponent," he instantly unlocked the swords and jumped back and gracefully landed on another cylinder. The girl lost her balance and fell forwards, but she quickly stabbed her sword into one of the cylinders in front of her and hauled herself back up. As she stood up she breathed heavily, she was angry but mostly out of breath. _

_The girl began to sprint toward her master with her sword at the ready. Suddenly the area filled with the noise of swords clashing continuously. The girl grunted and yelled as she used all her strength to try and hit her master with the sword but he blocked every single slash. As the rapid sword fighting went on, the fighter's footing were more careful and slow._

_Without warning, Ra's Al Ghul swiftly sliced the girl's thigh to leave a deep gushing scar as she tried to cut him again. She let out a cry, the sword cut through her skin with ease as they were extremely sharp. She suddenly lost her balance and fell off the cylinder, into the darkness._

_As she fell, her head bashed against the wooden pillar and her arm bent the wrong way. She landed uncomfortably at the bottom of the shallow darkness facing where she had just been standing only seconds ago. She let out a scream as her eyes grew wide and watched helplessly as her samurai sword fell down as well, with the point aiming for her. The girl couldn't move, she was wedged between the pillars._

_Then with an easy stab, the sharp sword penetrated her stomach and went right through until it was stopped by the floor underneath her. Ra's Al Ghul let out a gasp and watched as the life was slowly slipping from his students face. As her last breath echoed through the arena, Ra's looked around at his spectators._

"_Get ready to leave! We're need to get to the Lazarus Pit!" He barked at someone nearby as they backed away then ran to tell others. Ra's looked down to the girl who just stared at him with her cold dead eyes. He gave a sigh of disappointment then jumped down into the darkness to help her back up._

_Time was passing and the students face got paler and paler as the warmth of her blood slowly left her body from her stab wound. _

"_She's so cold," commented the person who carried her. A herd of people were walking down a stone carved corridor, with Ra's leading. "Master, why don't we just restart and get another child." The carrier said with fear in his heart but not in his tone. Ra's didn't turn back, he kept walking speedily. _

"_Because my dear boy, we have spent many years with this one. It is too late to turn back now, too late to start again." He answered as his eyes scanned the wall's carvings for a particular picture._

_Suddenly it caught his eye, the picture was of a circle with four triangles pointing inwards on four sides, as if an invisible square surrounded the circle. It could be mistaken as an image of the sun but no, it was the symbol of life. It was an old language, too old to be translated by their time._

_Ra's placed his left hand over the image and pushed in the triangles at the same time using his first three fingers and his thumb._

_A sudden tremble begun and dust started falling from above. To an untrained eye, the corridor looked as if it was about to cave in but these people weren't untrained, they were trained to the best of their ability and even beyond. _

_The image Ra's Al Ghul had pressed split right down the middle all the way down to the floor and up to the ceiling. It parted roughly to either side to reveal a cave with bluer and darker rock surrounding its walls, and a staircase leading down to a white mist. Ra's started departing down the stairs, with the herd following behind._

_As the stairs stopped, they entered a large cave that was almost in the shape of a roughly carved dome. The mist that covered the floor only came up to the assassin's waist. It was thick, but not thick enough to truly cover up a great green glow that came from the centre of the room. The sound of bubbling heavy water filled the underground area, as everyone circled the place where the sound was coming from. They were all evenly separate from one another, almost as if they had rehearsed this ritual before. _

_The carrier stood right next to Ra's Al Ghul, the girl was in the man's arms, her eyes closed and head hanging back with her left arm hanging lifelessly. The carrier had her blood all over his torso, but he didn't seem phased by it. Ra's turned ever so slightly to the man and gently nodded. The man walked forwards towards the green glowing water. _

_With the help of some hidden stairs under the surface of the pool the carrier slowly walked down into the liquid. It only reached up to his knees before he bent down and carefully placed the girl into the pits glow. She slowly drifted slightly over to the centre of the pool and then sunk below the surface until she could no longer be seen. _

_There was a silence as the man backed out of the pit and stood by Ra's side once more. As everyone stared at the pit with emotionless faces, a faint rumble was heard. A few of the spectators moved slightly to look at each other. Ra's eyes flickered to them and then continued staring at the pit. There was another rumble, but this one was louder and the floor vibrated mildly. People were confused, this has never happened before during this ritual. Ra's Al Ghul hardly lowered his head to look at the ground. Just as he thought that whatever it was had passed, there was a loud crashing sound and the ground violently shook. Everyone around the circle held their arms out to ease their balance. _

_Suddenly the rocky ground cracked and released a harsh gas and created a whistling sound. The crack zigzagged all the way into the pit and below the surface of the water. Ra's eyes widened as he stared in horror as the cracked over flowed with a black thick liquid. His eyes followed the crack until they landed on the Lazarus Pit, he noticed that the green shade of the water was turning darker. _

"_My god," he breathed before, without thinking, he dove into the darkening water to save the girl, who he prayed had resurrected before the cave had began to shake._

"_Master!" Was the last thing he heard before he hit the liquid. _

_The noises of the rocks falling, the ground cracking and the people yelling suddenly were muffled as Ra's Al Ghul swam deeper down to find the girl. He squinted his eyes as all he could see was black. He could feel the cold water pushing up against him, as if the crack below him was oozing out the black substance down here as well. His skin started feeling itchy but he ignored it, he needed to find the girl, there was no turning back with her now. He could see a silhouette getting closer as he swam toward it, it was the girl and she was still unconscious._

_When he was within reach, he grabbed the girl's arm and turned to swim upwards. However the girl's eyes immediately shot open and she pulled her arm away. He looked back to grab her again but she suddenly curled up into a ball and sharply breathed out causing bubbles to float away. She was in pain. Before Ra's could grab her, he suddenly felt as if his skin was peeling, his insides were burning and he too let out a sharp gasp at this painful sensation. _

_He frantically looked down to his pruning hands, he has done this ritual so many times that he knew this feeling wasn't right. His skin looked as if it was cracking revealing white rays of light. He looked over to the girl who remained curled up, her skin was showing the same light. He then peered back to his hands, he let out a bubbled yell as the light grew brighter and his skin exploded. _

"_Master? Master? Master Ra's Al Ghul," the voice was quiet at first but grew to a normal speaking volume. Ra's opened his eyes to see a blurred image of one of his people looking over him. He sat up as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He was laying in the snow, the mountains surrounded him, he was above the underground area where the Lazarus Pit was. He looked to his left, the girl laid their unconscious but breathing, the blood that once covered her was gone. He looked to his right and there in front of him was piles of rocks that had caved in the entrance to the pit. He looked down to his hands, they were normal._

"_How did we get out here?" He asked the person who woke him up._

"_We don't know Master. Some of us got out before it all exploded and caved in." The man explained with wide eyes._

"_Exploded?" Ra's asked surprised. The man nodded._

"_When finally we made it out, you and the girl were already out here, laying in the snow unconscious." He finished. Ra's let out a sigh._

"_We will go back to the academy, and continue her training. We shall mourn those we have lost later." Ra's ordered. The valley of snow was silent, the mountains whistled as a wind picked up some snow and made it waltz around, the faded blue sky had few clouds to witness what had happened._

"Til this day I still haven't figured out what happened. It has proved impossible to find whatever that black substance was. We cannot get back into the cave, it is too unstable now. It was only after time and a few freak accidents had we figured out that 23 and myself couldn't die. Whatever that darkness was... It has changed us... Forever." Ra's Al Ghul looked to the Joker. He looked bored and half asleep.

"So... Basically the girl can't ..uh die," The Joker summed up as he licked his scars. Ra's nodded. "Well that was a lovely little..uh voodoo story," The Joker giggled mockingly, "But I have to go, people to kill, things to plan, henchmen to hire." The Joker shrugged and walked away, it was as if he didn't believe what Ra's had said, or he simply just didn't care. All he thought was 23 can't die and neither could Ra's Al Ghul...

"Grea**t**," he grumbled under his breath, away from his secret enemy.

Once the Joker had left and was out of sight, 23 appeared in the doorway.

"Master?" she called quietly. Ra's turned on stage to face her. 23 walked to the stage and climbed onto it.

"My student, what is the progress of your mission?" Ra's lowered his voice also.

"The Joker has not made a move yet or communicated to any of the other criminals." She was stood up straight and spoke with her usual monotone voice. Her eyes flickered to the floor then back up to Ra's. "Master... if I may?" she asked to speak from her own tongue.

"You may," Ra's Al Ghul nodded as he looked into her emotionless eyes.

"Who is... The Batman?" she asked with hesitance.

"Ah yes, the Joker told me he put you up against him. I am pleased of how well you did," Ra's gave a gentle smile.

"He said you knew who he was, Master," Ra's gave a sigh, closed his eyes and nodded to himself. Thinking whether to tell the girl the truth about him.

"He was once a student of mine, just like yourself. But he turned on us and went rogue. He became the Batman," Ra's remembered when Bruce burnt down his shelter, his home and saved him, thinking that he was someone else.

"Who is he?" 23 interrupted his thought.

"Secrets that don't concern you my dear," Ra's finished. 23 knew her place, she was trained to not pry into his business. She trusts him, therefore she let go of wondering.

…

"Are you sure about this Master Wayne?" Alfred asked as he peered through the cars mirror to look at the back seat. There sat Bruce dressed as the Batman but without his mask, he just had the black circles around his eyes.

"Yes Alfred, I will see you at home," answered Bruce as he put the mask over his head to officially become the Batman once more. He got out of the car and climbed the building that the car was parked beside. Alfred drove off as Batman scaled up the building towards where the Bat signal was shining. The Police Station.

With a sip of his hot tea, Commissioner Gordon sighed as he gazed into the cloudy night sky where the Bat signal rested upon. He heard heavy footsteps suddenly appear, he quickly turned around causing a bit of his tea to spill. Gordon immediately calmed down when he saw who stood before him.

"Good to see you old friend," he smiled as he looked at the dark vigilante.

"The Joker is planning something, like nothing before." The Batman growled.

"How so?" Gordon asked as he stepped towards this Dark Knight.

"He's working with Ra's Al Ghul. They have made this … girl... that isn't normal," Batman tried to once again think about what happened before his eyes, when the girl healed within seconds. "I have this," he handed the Commissioner a photo of the girl, he got it when they were fighting. His bat vision recorded everything he saw. The picture immediately interested Gordon because of her white hair,

"How unusual, she has to be at least 18 years old." Gordon gasped.

"Check the missing persons files, we need to find out what this girl can do. We need to know what the Joker is planning. " The Batman ordered.

"I will do what I can," Gordon looked down to the picture, "People go missing everyday in Gotha..." He looked up and saw no one there. Batman had once again, disappeared whilst he was talking. Gordon scoffed then looked back at the picture. Her eyes were so cold, so angry... What kind of life has this girl had?

…

**Yay! We're back on track with the story! I'm soooooooooo glad that I found the plan again! I had forgot some of the important things that will be going into the story! That could have SUCKED!**

**Anywho, I hope you liked it! Pretty please review! I would love to know what you guys think of it so far.**


	6. You Cheated

**You Cheated**

"Yeah! Go Boss!" called out a large muscular henchman from the seating area that faced the stage.

"Show her who's Boss!" yelled another one as he threw some popcorn into his mouth. There was a group of newly hired henchmen all sitting in random chairs in the abandoned theatre. They were all scattered around due to the fact that most of the chairs were broken and unusable. They watched as the Joker and 23 practised their fighting skills on one another.

The Joker and 23 were on stage circling each other, the Joker had a evil smirk on his face while 23 watched him intently. He had taken off his purple coat and blazer to leave him showing his blue hexagon shirt, green vest and purple gloves more than usual.

"Weapon of Choi**ce**?" The Joker asked as he cocked his head to the side. The girl glared at him and then drew out her mighty Samurai Sword, and positioned herself ready to fight. The Joker nodded with an impressed face. Then grinned as he pulled out a potato peeler. 23 stood back up straight with a confused look that caused a crease in the area just above her nose.

"What? Don't you ..uh thin**k** I'm being seriou**s**?" He continued to grin his yellowing smile. The girl lowered her head slightly to create an eerie shadow on her face, then bent her legs again to get back into her fighting position. She jumped in the air, with her sword above her head, and turned 360 degree in mid air and slashed at the Jokers hand once. She landed beside him, then immediately flipped backwards to where she was just seconds ago. The Joker looked down to his potato peeler, the blade was cut off, revealing only two small sharp points near the handle. The Joker sighed, looked at the girl and began to chuckle as he put it back into his trouser pocket.

"Lets make a deal!" He opened his arms as if he was asking for a hug, "How about you teach me one of your little..uh ninja move**s**. While I teach you one of my moves." He cocked his head to the side and leaned towards her, even though they were too far apart to actually touch. She stood frozen, then straightened up and sheathed her sword.

"Yes Master," She bowed slightly. The Joker giggled under his breath, there was something about being called Master that made him feel so... powerful.

"Right then!" He cheered, the henchmen watched in anticipation. "Show me one of your simplest moves," He crossed his arms and leaned on one of his legs as he watched her intently. 23 nodded and walked back a few steps to gain more space. The hall was silent, the henchmen were on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what she will do.

23 suddenly started running towards the Joker, bent over and did a somersault, then did another one while her hands drew out both of her Samurai Swords, then flipped again and did two turns in the air while her arms were straight out with both swords pointing outwards. Then she landed in front of the Joker crouched down, still holding her swords outwards and slowly stood up straight to look him in the eyes. The Joker sucked his scars.

"That was one of your simplest moves?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I learnt that within the first month of my training, Master," She bowed gently. The Joker knew that 23 had been training for over 13 years already, which made that move even more impressive. He licked his lips.

"Well I'll practise that in my own..uh ti**me**," He lied as he knew there was no way that he could do that, even if he really wanted to. But he wasn't exactly troubled on learning moves like that, he had his own methods. "But now, you shall learn one of my 'simplest' moves," He grinned. 23 nodded and put away her swords again. The Joker raised his fists in front of his face, the girl did the same.

He threw a curved punch coming from the left, the girl blocked it and pushed it off with her right arm, the Joker came in from the right, the girl blocked with the left. The Joker brought his left arm around his head and forced it out violently but 23 ducked and turned all the way around to kick him with greater force. The Joker backed away as he grabbed his stomach, he let out an annoyed growl.

Joker shifted side to side then charged at 23, the henchmen started cheering madly. The Joker swiftly punched at the girl repeatedly jumping from one hand to the other, the girl blocked every single blow. With each punch the Joker stepped forwards causing 23 to step back. It was so repetitive, almost boring. They were getting closer and closer to the stages left side, where some old rusty scaffolding was placed up towards where the dusty red curtain hung.

The girl started to think that this was all he was going to do, it was too easy for her. She grew tired of his amateurishness and ducked under his incoming right arm. As she ducked underneath and went to turn to face him, the Joker grabbed the pointed and broken potato peeler from his pocket and stabbed her in the back. She let out a yelp from the sudden unexpected pain and stumbled slightly, then immediately she calmed down as the pain almost instantly healed. She looked over her right shoulder and swung her left leg around to kick him. The Joker grinned and grabbed her ankle, then used all his strength to swing her around to hit the scaffolding that was behind her before she had ducked out of the way.

There was a loud clanging sound as she collided with the metal bars, the henchmen winced at the force. The girl stood up and shook her head as the clanging ringed in her ears. Before she could defend herself again, the Joker ran into her so she was pinned between him and the bars and he swiftly pulled out something from his back trouser pocket. The theatre echoed with 2 clicks and the Joker stood back. The girl charged at him but was pulled back by something. She looked down behind her to her arms, both her hands were handcuffed around one of the scaffolding's metal bars. Her eye's widened slightly, then she calmed down and glared at the Joker.

"You cheated," she stated.

"I'm not the one who can**'t** die," The Joker smirked as he leaned closer to the girl. The girl could have easily head butted him right there and then but she had to respect her 'Master', so she instantly forgot the thought. She lightly exhaled through her nose.

"That move was very effective," She bowed her head, "Would you be kind enough to teach me it, Master?" She asked with an unamused face. Being handcuffed wasn't a very nice feeling, she didn't like the fact that he beat her merely by tricking her to think that he was an amateur. The Joker smirked and walked over to her to unlock the handcuffs.

"Why does he even have handcuffs?" A henchman leaned over to another one that sat beside him, the other one shrugged as his eyes were fixed on the fighting duo.

They watched as the Joker looked down at 23, who remained looking ahead, and talked about tricking the victim into thinking your a bore, and then striking when they least expect it.

"Let's go again," The Joker said as he raised his fists. The girl followed and then violently started punching at his arms, the Joker could barely keep up with blocking her.

…

A samurai sword slashed through the air, the Samurai Warrior back flipped and turned in the air to land facing the opposite direction from before, and pointed his sword and slashed the air in a criss – cross shape. Next they twirled in the air doing 3 turns before land facing in the direction when they started. Then they began to run to gain speed and flipped in the air as they finally stabbed the well carved wooden coffee. Someone cleared their throat, the warrior turned to face the door, where the sound came from.

"Lunch is ready Master Wayne," Alfred politely announced as his eyes fell onto the now damaged coffee table. "You are aware Master Wayne, that the coffee table cost more then my salary in one year." He pointed out. Bruce panted as he looked down to the table in his study.

"Well then we shall raise your salary," Bruce breathed as he put his Samurai Sword back into it's sheath. Alfred eyes lowered to the floor then back at his friend.

"Why are you using your sword? You haven't used it in years." Alfred asked.

"The Joker is planning something, and it has something to do with that girl. When I fought her... her moves... her agility... her blade, they all belonged to the League of Shadows. Which means..." Bruce explained.

"Ra's Al Ghul, Sir" Alfred finished. Brice pointed at him to signal that he was right.

"If Ra's Al Ghul is teaming up with the Joker then Gotham is in danger... Probably the most it has ever been in," Bruce looked down to his sword. "And it starts with that girl," he pulled the sword out of it's sheath again, "She was trained by Ra's Al Ghul himself, I know it." He swung the sword continuously to create a windmill effect, "But that healing..." He scratched the wooden floor with the blade, Alfred winced. "That healing... She's been to the pit, but something went wrong..." He turned quickly on his heels and slashed the sword horizontally. "The pit doesn't heal a person unless they are in it..." he stabbed the sword in the floor and cartwheeled over it, using it as a push to go higher, then pulled it out and straightened his body as he flipped once and landed with a loud thud as his feet smacked the ground.

"You think you're going to have to fight her again?" Alfred asked, as he stared at the damage Bruce was doing in this beautiful study.

"I know I will. But this time I'll be ready," Bruce back flipped into the air and swiped his sword while he turned 180 degrees. He landed crouched on the floor, swung his sword around him above his head, stabbed it into the floor and leaped off the ground and rolled in the air. He finished with his sword pointing towards the window that looked down onto his manor's gardens.

…

23 raised both of her swords with straight arms right above her head, then created two opposite semi circles with her arms, causing the swords to swoop down. She continued with crossing her arms over one another so the swords formed an X. Then with a war cry, she stepped forwards and cut the air in front of her. Ending with both arms straight out and her glaring at her invisible target.

It was late, there was only one dim light on in the actual theatre room. Everyone had gone to bed. The Joker was around, but focused on planning his next bit of fun, 23 was on her own.

She stood up straight then turned her head to look at the audience of ghosts before her. She spun around increasingly, slowly moving forwards to the edge of the stage during the process. Her arms close to her so her swords were pointing upwards. Once her toes were only inches away from the edge, she flung her arms in the air and hauled them down in front of her while she bent over. Her two swords pierced through the front of the stage that faced the audience, and she flipped herself off the edge and landed on the floor where the seats were. She lunged forwards and punched in front of her with a flat palm, then bent her arm back in and repeated but lower down and then higher up.

_Two opponents wrists collided, then their other wrists did the same and this was repeated over and over again._

"_Keep your eyes on me," Ra's Al Ghul yelled as he punched the girl and she blocked. "Don't think about your feet, they'll do what they need to." He ordered. They were training on a beam, they could only go backwards and forwards. When Ra's stepped forwards the girl stepped backwards, and when he stepped backwards the girl stepped forwards, he was leading her. _

_Their wrists collided again but with greater force. The girl's foot slipped off the beam and she felt that she was about to fall to the floor underneath, but Ra's harshly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back._

"_Focus!" He commanded._

"_S..sorry Master," she breathed as they continued the exercise. But then Ra's stepped forwards and the girl lost her footing again and fell to the floor but landed fine. _

"_Dammit!" she yelled as she slammed her hands down onto the beam._

"_You are not focusing," Ra's snapped at her as he jumped down._

"_I am! I AM!" She roared in his face. Without warning Ra's grabbed her by her brunette haired bun at the back of her head and slammed her face down onto the beam._

"_If you were focused, you would have dodged that!" he growled as he watched her fall to the floor and breath heavily._

"_I'm sorry Master," she said with a hint of anger as she rubbed her nose, Ra's picked up on it._

"_I'm teaching you for your own good, I saved you from being an orphan, being alone in a back street orphanage that traffics children on to being prostitutes when they grow up... If they grow up. This is the thanks I get for this?" He loomed over her, she looked up at him then breathed a heavy sigh. Ra's knelt down so he was eye level with her. "The fire that consumed your parents was a tragedy, and I know that not knowing what caused this fire is a pain to bare but you live here now." He lowered his voice to an almost caring tone, "You are my student. You could've been consumed by those same flames. But I saved you. This is fate that you have survived this long, you have a purpose, and this is it." He encouraged while she looked at him with sad eyes, she didn't remember what happened, she was only a small child. She was only told later on in life where her parents were._

"_Would my parents be proud, Master?" She murmured. Ra's gave a gentle smile._

"_Of course. Now get up, we have more training to do," Ra's Al Ghul stood and held out his hand to the girl. She grabbed it and hauled herself back up. They both got back onto the beam and started again._

23 punched the air with her right fist, continued turning and kicked with her left leg. She ended crouched to the floor down one of the aisles of the theatre. She let out a long heavy sigh that echoed throughout the theatre and faded into the darkness that surrounded her.

...

**Yay! Another chapter! I'm getting a wee bit worried that no one is reviewing... I really hope you like the story! =)**


	7. Full House

**Full House**

23 walked down one of the dark corridors of the theatre, the dampness filled her nose and the cobwebs swung back and forth as she walked by them. As she walked by the doors to one of the theatre's bars, she heard yelling, cheering and bickering. 23 snapped her head to the double doors that were only cracked open ajar. She slowly walked to the crack in the door, while her hand hovered over one of her sword's that were in their sheath on her belt.

"You cheated!" angrily yelled a man as he slammed down his fist on the table while the other hand held some cards. 23 stared at him, then he turned his face to reveal that half of it had been horrifically deformed in some way... Almost burnt off. 23's eyes mildly widened but she composed herself quickly.

"Me? Chea**t**?" She heard the Joker mockingly ask.

"Someone needs some anger management classes," another man mumbled loudly. He wore a pair of thin framed glasses and had a grey shiny suitcase next to his chair that he was sitting on. All these people are sitting around a table.

"Shut up Crane! What do you know? You're as cracked as the rest of us," the two faced man shouted back as he sat back down.

"Calm down darling, we're here for a bit of fun. Not another fight." Calmly spoke a red haired woman who had her feet up on the table. She appeared to be wearing green... no... leaves? And vines were wrapped around her waist and down her legs. 23 tried to figure out who these people were, her mind was going a mile a minute as she glared at each one of them.

"Ah! Here she i**s**!" Announced the Joker as he hauled the doors 23 was standing behind open. "The girl I told you about! My new secret... Weapo**n**." He grinned. 23 stood up straight while her eyes fluttered around the entire room, now that she had a better view of it. The people who were just speaking were sitting around a table that had plastic circles laying everywhere on it, and there was a pile of money in the middle. Around the room were groups of henchmen, belonging to each of these mysterious people no doubt. Some sat around other tables, some at the bar, a couple behind the bar and some watched the weird game with money and plastic circles on the table in the middle of the room.

"23, Gotham's Most Wanted. Gotham's Most Wanted, 23!" The Joker introduced as he looked down at her. Then it suddenly clicked who these people were!

"I know who you are," She spoke with that monotone voice. "Two Face. Harvey Dent. A schizoid criminal-mastermind. You flip a coin to decide the fates of your victims." Two Face growled angrily while a short fat man with a long nose, that was sitting next to him, started laughing. 23 snapped her head to him. "The Penguin. Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. An eccentric criminal mastermind, known for your love of ornithology and trick umbrellas and for your untrustworthy business dealings. Your umbrellas conceal a variety of deadly weapons and gadgets." The penguin choked. 23 moved around the table. "Poison Ivy. Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley. One of the world's most prominent eco-terrorists obsessed with plants, botany, and environmentalism. You use toxins from plants and your own bloodstream." 23 bowed her head to her. "Mr Freeze. Dr. Schivel. A mad scientist who must wear a cryogenic suit to survive." Mr Freeze looked down to his cards. 23 snapped to the man in the glasses. "Scarecrow," He looked up at her with a smirk on his face. "Dr. Jonathan Crane. An insane ex-psychiatrist who uses a variety of drugs and psychological tactics to use the fears and phobias of your adversaries." She finished. The other henchmen that surrounded the room were looking at her with bewilderment. The main villains in the middle of the room looked at her with confusion or anger.

"Now do your Master." Crane ordered as he nodded his head to the Joker. 23 looked up at the Joker who crossed his arms and waited for what she had to say.

"The Joker. Name unknown. A maniacal criminal mastermind who terrorizes Gotham City and whose goal is to plunge it into anarchy... Master." She bowed. The Joker sucked his scars as he looked down at her, then turned to the people playing poker.

"She was trained by Ra's Al Ghul." He explained. They all nodded their heads as if they finally understood and went back to their game.

"Ere Joker, are we going to get back to this bloody game or what?" The Penguin asked. The Joker sat back down and started playing again.

"So where were we? Oh yeah! I was.. uh winning!" He laughed hysterically. 23 stood there and watched as they played this odd game. She's never seen it before.

Her eyes suddenly shifted down to look at Crane, who was still staring at her.

"Your little... student is fascinating." He finally said as he adjusted his glasses. The Joker looked up and saw them locking eyes.

"Watch this," he whispered as he leaned in to the table. "23! Leave us," he called. 23 looked away from Crane, who smirked, and she bowed.

"Yes Master," She answered and walked out of the room and down the corridor. Crane eventually took his pale blue eyes off the door and turned to face the Joker.

"You are aware that she has some comorbidities," Crane analysed as he threw in some chips into the pile where more money sat.

"Such as?" The Joker asked as he licked his lips and looked at his cards. He wasn't really bothered about what Crane had to say.

"Dissociative, borderline Schizophrenic and not to mention of course Psychosis," Crane examined as he looked at each of the criminals there who already clearly had it. The Joker giggled and looked at the Scarecrow.

"Please, I have more than that in this little..uh finger," he grinned as he raised his hand. Crane sighed.

"She's a ticking time bomb," Crane finished, "Full house," he added. The other's moaned and threw their cards down apart from the Joker. Crane stared at him with his piercing leer. The Joker gave an over dramatic sigh and threw his cards down. Crane smiled and reached for his winnings.

…

The night sky loomed over Gotham while the streets called out with sirens, screams and glass bottles smashing on the roads. In the city that only had nightmares, the most feared criminals were all grouped together finishing their poker game.

"Well that was a fine bloody game," laughed the Penguin as he walked out of the abandoned theatre with all his winnings. The rest of the criminals grumbled, it was clear that the Penguin had won in the end.

"Looks like I'm going to have to rob a bank to get that all back," growled Two Face.

"Lighten up Darling!" Poison Ivy blew a kiss, "I must be going, chow!" She flirtatiously waved as a vine slivered out of nowhere, wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground and over the building. The masterminds just carried on like nothing had happened. One by one they left the theatre and entered their chosen vehicles to go back to their hideouts. The Joker was back inside ordering his henchmen to clean up the mess in the poker room, which included a henchman's corpse that the Joker had shot when he begun losing the game.

The Scarecrow stood in the door way of the old theatre and looked back inside. He looked to one of the smashed windows that allowed the street lights to barely fill the room, 23 was standing by it, they glared each other down.

"S..sir?" stuttered one of his henchman who was holding open the car door for him. Crane smirked at 23 and adjusted his glasses before exiting the building and getting into the car. 23 leaned back against the wall just beside the window and peered through. She saw Crane's vehicle drive away. The Penguin's fancy black car was parked right outside the Theatre, his door was opened for him by a henchman.

23 was hidden in the darkness of the abandoned building. She stared at the car's license plate as it got smaller and smaller down the road, then her eyes snapped to a colder figure. Mr Freeze was walking down the alley in the other direction of everyone else, he faded into the darkness. 23 walked away from the window and closed her eyes. The echoes of the dusty Theatre sung in her ears, while the streets of Gotham were pushed out. She focused on the corridors of the Theatre, every creak of the floorboards, every squeak of the rats and every rumble from the unsteady building. Then there it was.

"You call that a dead corp**se**?" The Joker's voice mocked with an echo, "This is a dead corpse!" he laughed.

"No!" Yelled another voice but immediately after there was a gun shot and a thud, followed by a manic laugh. Then the sound of shuffling feet as the Joker left the room to go to his own. 23 opened her eyes, the sounds of Gotham filled her ears again. She walked out of the Theatre and down the alley in the direction Mr Freeze had gone.

…

The Joker sat in an aisle seat in the stage room, and leaned back as he thought up his next idea. The silence helped him imagine capturing Batman in one of his fantastic plans. Suddenly the doors at the back of the room harshly creaked open, The Joker instantly filled with annoyance and opened his eyes. Which babbling baboon had interrupted his thoughts? As he turned to see who it was, a white haired girl marched by him down the aisle and onto the stage.

"Ah 23! I was wondering where you had..uh run off to," he grinned as he stared at her. Immediately after his last word a smell filled his nostrils. It smelt smoky and thick. "Looks like someone needs a bath," He mocked as he waved his hand, she didn't answer, she begun practising her fighting skills with her fists.

Before the Joker could say another thing, a henchman rushed into the room holding a newspaper.

"Boss! Boss!" He called creating an echo around the room. 23 ignored it and carried on performing. The Joker turned on his heels.

"What?" he growled.

"Thought you might want to read this..." the henchman quietened down when he realized who he was talking to. The Joker snatched the newspaper from the man's grip and read the front cover.

"_THE PENGUIN DEAD_" it read, the Joker gave a confused look as he turned the page, "_MR FREEZE DEAD_" it repeated. The words were so big that it felt like it was going to jump out the paper and grab the Joker by his tie. The Joker went back to the first page and saw a picture of the Ice- Burg Lounge on fire. It was known by some that the lounge was the place where the Penguin stayed most of the time. It read that the Penguin was inside when it caught a light, the Joker turned the page. It read the Mr Freeze's suit was sliced with ease, meaning that the suit was not functioning, causing the death of Mr Freeze since he needed the suit to live. The Joker's eyes looked up to look at 23. At first he showed anger, but then he started giggling which grew to a chuckle, which grew to a hysterical laugh.

23 ignored the Joker and stared at her invisible prey as she turn on heels and performed a high kick, then drew out her sword and sliced the air horizontally.

"_This is a special powder, a substance only found deep within the mountains of the Himalayas," spoke Ra's Al Ghul as he lifted his hand, causing a fine black powder to fall between his fingers. The girl stared at it in bewilderment._

"_It burns quickly, it's too quick to escape from and too quick to tame," Ra's continued, as they stood on a roof covered balcony that looked down to a valley of the Himalayas. The cold breeze carried some of the black powder away._

"_It doesn't leave a trace, only the trained who know the scent of it can detect it." He held out his hand, a pile of the black dust sat there. The girl leaned in and smelt the dust. _

The Joker glared at 23 as she practised, it was obvious that it was her. The sword was her weapon of choice and she stinks of smoke. She killed the Penguin and Mr Freeze. The Joker chuckled.

"More of Gotham for me to burn," he breathed quietly as his eerie grin appeared. "This will be fun."

…

**Author's Note: I'd like to say thank you for reading this chapter ^.^ I hope you're liking it so far! Have a great day! ^.^v**


	8. War

**This took agessss to do, but I'm soooo pleased with how it turned out! Hope you like it, tell me if you did pleaseeee! :)**

**War**

23 had her eyes closed and her legs crossed as she sat on top of the scaffolding, which was placed on the stage in the Theatre. She was meditating. She kept her mind focused on her missions, she visualised some of her attacks, she remembered the Himalayas and her training up there.

"What's she doing?" A henchman leaned over and asked his partner as they stood backstage and looked up to the girl who seemed oblivious that they were there.

"I don't know. Maybe she's sleeping..." The other answered as he looked up as well. She was rather high up from them, they wondered how she got up there or even why she wanted to be up there. 23 seemed to have grown a liking to the stage area, she would always be there practising some kind of attack or defence move. But every so often she needed a break, her body needed a rest for she is only human, immortality set aside. She knew that those two henchmen were staring at her, but she remained focused on her visualisation.

The Joker walked down the dirty corridors of the Theatre, he was mumbling some calculations to himself. Another plan to make the city burn and the Batman finally break his one rule. The Joker was annoyed yet impressed at how the Batman could control himself, they both knew that Batman wanted to kill the Joker. The Joker just didn't understand why he wouldn't. Killing is fun, it gets rid of the problem and makes for a great hobby. The Joker giggled at the thought of his hobby. He walked by the double doors of the stage area, then stopped in his tracks and walked back to peer through.

There was the white haired girl sitting on the scaffolding, while two of his baboons just stared up at her talking about something the Joker didn't care about. The Joker's eyes rested on the girl while she meditated. The Joker wasn't a fool, he knew that even though the girl was obedient to his demands, she was only human. His plan to murder Ra's Al Ghul, the man who was her master, her teacher and probably even a friend was going to be tough to deal with deep inside her. Of course she would never show it, the Joker debated to himself whether she even could show that kind of emotion. But there was something going on, it was clear that she killed the Penguin and Mr Freeze. The technique with her sword, her odd smoky smell after she came back and the fact there was no trace of evidence leading to her, it all pointed to her... It all pointed to Ra's Al Ghul. The Joker sucked his scars.

"But why?" He grumbled as he glared at her and leaned on the door frame. The Joker lowered his head during his glare, the air around him became tense and travelled toward the girl. 23 suddenly sensed the Joker nearby and immediately opened her eyes and snapped her head towards the doorway the Joker was standing in. There was a moment of silence as they glared each other down, even the two henchmen felt it as they looked at each other in a worried state.

But this moment didn't last for very long, as there was an angry yell and the sound of a window smashing. The Joker turned around while 23 looked in the direction the noise came from, even though there was a wall in her visions way. The Joker disappeared from the doorway and ran down the corridor to see what had happened. He got excited at the thought of it being Batman here to finally put an end to him. 23 jumped off the scaffolding, landed on the stage in a crouched position and ran down the aisle to catch up with the Joker. The two henchmen looked to one another and then followed hastily.

23 sprinted down the corridor towards where the noise had come from, she turned off into one of the rooms and stopped with a halt as she almost ran into the Joker's back. The Joker stared at the broken glass on the rotting wooden floor then looked up at the smashed window. His ears picked up the sounds on the streets, there was yelling, shouting, swearing and name calling.

"Boss? What's going on out there?" asked one of the henchmen that had been in the stage area only moments before. The Joker turned his head to look at him.

"Why don't you... uh tell me. Go loo**k**." The Joker ordered the scared man. The henchman nodded as he walked towards the broken window, the other henchman watched him thanking God that the Joker didn't order him to do it. As the terrified henchman climbed onto the table to reach up to the window so he could look out of it, 23 glared at the window and listened to all the distasteful angry words coming from outside.

"Boss! There's a riot outsi..." The henchman was brutally cut off as a glass bottle crashed into his face, causing him to fall unconscious and fall to the floor. The Joker laughed at the man's cut up face then he ran to the table, jumped up onto it and looked outside. The street in front of the Theatre was full of maddened people, some had guns, others had knives and few were brave enough to use fists. They were all facing the Theatre and cussing towards it.

"Murderer!" yelled one of the many voices. Another glass bottle came flying towards the window but the Joker ducked out of the way and chuckled.

"Kill her!" yelled another. The Joker looked out to the crowd and noticed something, they were all men with maybe a handful of butch women. These people were brutes, they could easily be hired to be a henchman for someone. The Joker snapped his head to one of them.

"That guy owes me money," he grinned as he finally understood. He recognised them, they were the henchmen of the other criminals in the city. Suddenly there was a knock of the double doors that held the entrance to the Theatre. The Joker turned and jumped off the table, dodging another beer bottle as it flew through the window. He nodded to the henchman, signalling him to answer the door. The henchman ran out of the room and dashed towards those doors, as he ran passed other rooms and corridors in the theatres, other henchmen of the Joker's popped their heads out to see what was going on. The knocking echoed through the building. The henchman opened the door with a creak, the Joker walked up behind him and 23 walked behind the Joker.

"Ah Dr Crane, to what do I owe this deligh**t**?" the Joker grinned, welcoming him inside. Crane walked in wearing his Scarecrow mask, the henchman slammed the doors shut behind the criminal, afraid of letting anyone else in. Crane took off the sack and ran a hand through his gelled back hair.

"Afternoon Joker," he said as he put his glasses back on. "It seems that there has been some talk on the streets about Penguin's and Mr Freeze's death... About how the girl caused it," Crane's cold eyes fell on to 23 who looked up at him and held a glare. The Joker chuckled.

"And how would they know tha**t**," The Joker crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side.

"Because you know she did," Crane answered with a smug look. The Joker licked the side of his mouth and rolled his eyes as he loathed the fact that someone working for him clearly has a big mouth. "Killing off one of the most wanted criminals of this city is one thing but killing off two? In the same night might I add... Then there's something else going on," Crane explained. "I think your... Student is ignoring you." he leaned in to the Joker with a smirk. 23 remained glaring at Crane.

"Is it so surprising that a** k**iller … uh **k**illed another** k**iller?" The Joker chuckled.

"Word got to the Black Mask. After he came to the conclusion that you're starting a war, other's began to follow him." Crane explained. "And now they're starting a war of their own... On the streets of Gotham." Crane finished as the Joker started giggling. He walked closer to a boarded up window and peeped through a gap to look at the furious lot.

"A War? Why would I start a War? This city needs chaos, but it can't have that if all the criminals are killing each other." The Joker grinned.

"You don't need to tell me that. Tell them," Crane said staring at 23. "I told you she was a ticking time bomb," A window further down the corridor smashed as a bin flew through it.

"Then why aren't they coming in? They want a figh**t**? It'll be fun." The Joker took out his knife and clicked it open. Crane scoffed.

"Even if you were going against them all, you're still the Joker. No one's going to storm in here just in case there's a trap." Crane explained as he adjusted his glasses, the Joker burst out laughing.

"Then I'll bring the fight to them." The Joker nodded at his henchmen, who were gathering around, and pointed to the back of the theatre. They all started to march away. 23 looked to the Joker who grinned at her.

"Oh and by the way... Having almost every criminal's henchmen on one street has attracted Gotham police as well." Crane took his glasses off and put his mask on as blue and red sirens started to reflect off the wall in the building. Crane had no point for this war, he knew the girl was a loose canon but no one else believed him. He left with ease as he slid away from the building and out of sight. The Joker strode off to the back of the Theatre, 23 followed him.

"Master, what shall we do?" she asked with a serious tone, the Joker chuckled and turned around to face her and patted her on the cheek. She didn't move, even though she wanted to punch him away.

"Since you got us in this little... uh situation, you're going to go out there and figh**t**," he growled the last word, "You all are!" He turned to announce to the other henchmen. "The good thing about this Theatre being so old, is that when it was made they put underground tunnels below i**t**." He looked over to a pile of crates in the corner of this small room. A few henchmen followed his stare, ran to the crates and pulled them away, revealing a rusty ladder leading down below.

"The element of surprise Master?" 23 looked from the ladder to the Joker, who grinned.

"Of course," he remained grinning as all the henchmen climbed down the ladder one by one. It was obvious that they were outnumbered. The Joker had only 20 maybe 30 henchmen on his team, while there was 300 maybe more people waiting outside for them, and that's not including the police that are on their way. The Joker thought this to be a rather fun game, he likes games. As everyone climbed down to the damp tunnels underneath they started running to the direction of Gotham's streets. The Joker ran behind them with 23 by his side. The tunnel rumbled with every stomp and war cry from above, the Joker's henchmen ran causing wet footsteps to splash and echo through the tunnel. Their breathing was heavy, they were scared, they didn't sign up with the Joker to be part of a War. Only the Joker and 23 were not afraid, the Joker couldn't care less and 23 couldn't die so she knew she'd be fine.

They stood under a drain grill which had a small ladder going up towards it, they had passed the yelling and mad stomping. If the Joker's calculations were right, they were under an alley that stood behind the buildings on the street where the riot commenced.

With a simple nod, the henchmen climbed up the ladder one by one and made it to the surface. It was 23s turns to climb, she grabbed the ladder and was about to haul herself up but the Joker grabbed her wrist, her head snapped to him.

"Now now, you have a little... uh problem with doing wha**t **I say. This is my side, and you're now on i**t**. If you start disobeying my orders up there..." The Joker licked his scars, "I will be for**ced** to punish you," he grinned. 23 stared into his dark eyes, the vicious tone in his voice made her upper lip twitch and caused her anger to bubble up inside her, but she just nodded.

"I understand Master," she spoke with no emotion and climbed up the ladder to the light. As she stood up on Gotham's land once more she listened to the yells of the rioters that were over the building that stood in front of her. It was manic and crazy what was going on. Ra's Al Ghul would not be impressed. With that thought she harshly withdrew her sword, causing a ringing sound that made the other henchmen jumped back. The Joker stood up behind after climbing out of the tunnel, and kicked the grill over the hole again.

"Now, I want to see blood flying everywhere... Even if it's your own!" He started laughing hysterically. It was loud, so loud that the rioter's noise dyed down. 23's hold on the sword got tighter causing her knuckles to turn white. "Go!" The Joker sung as he clapped his hands together with joy. This was so exciting to him. The henchmen jumped into action after 23 ran passed them and climbed the fire escape of the building in front of them. They all ran around the building down the alleyways. The Joker heard gun fire and yells and sniggered to himself. Then he strode over to the fire escape and followed 23.

23 was crouched on the corner of the building on the fire escaped that weaved itself around the building. She watched as the rioters started attacking the Joker's crew, then she saw the police cars further down the street on either end. There were rows of SWAT teams slowly walking toward the army of thugs, they had tall see-through shields defending them from the brutes throwing glass and bricks at them.

There was a metallic foot step coming from behind her. She instantly turn to see who else was on this black metal fire escape. The Joker was standing only metres away from her with a sly smirk on his face.

"Figh**t**," he quietly said in almost a mocking tone. 23 nodded her head and stood up still looking at the Joker who cocked his head to the side. Then in a flash she dove off the fire escape and ran her sword through the poor soul below her. The Joker leaned over slightly to see the mess she just caused. The sword was mighty sharp, the victim's blood was scattered across the floor, along with some of their organs, 23 had sliced them vertically in half.

The Joker chuckled and leaned back against the wall as he watched the rest of the crowd. Then he slowly brought up his right arm, revealing a powerful machine gun. He strode to the front of the building, still on the fire escape and began to fire his weapon randomly across the riot. Laughing while he did it. He killed many instantly, some he didn't know, some he recognized and even some of his own henchmen. He didn't care, he was having too much fun. As men fell from the showering bullets, some men that stood next to these victims didn't realize it was the Joker's doing. They assumed it was the person next to them, and with that this riot turned even more violent because now it was man against man, it was every man for himself.

There was pushing and shoving, hitting and kicking, bullets and knives and death all around. As the SWAT team grew dangerously close, the riot spread out wider, causing the police to join the fight. Even policemen that weren't as armoured as the SWAT's came running in, guns at the ready.

The war spread from one street to another, it moved down the alleys and passed many buildings. Even more people joined in, some were henchmen and some were petty thieves. The Joker laughed as he jumped down from his entertaining view, he joined the crowd and began recklessly firing his machine gun again. Some brutes and even cops tried to fight him but he either shot them or dodged out the way and swiftly stabbed them in the neck. The Joker grinned again and started spinning in circles as he fired his machine gun. 23 was literally slashing her way through the crowd that kept surrounding her, thinking they could beat her. Suddenly she felt several sharp pains in her back, she let out a yelp and turned on her heels to see the Joker spinning uncontrollably and laughing like a maniac. He shot her... among other people. She glared at him and thought of ending her mission right there and then, but she had a duty to Ra's Al Ghul to find the other criminals and kill them first. So she let out a war cry and spun around to slice more people that stood fighting behind her.

The Joker was having so much fun, a stab here, a bullet hole there. Then his fun was cut short as he was pushed over onto the floor by something above. He let go of the gun out of surprise, he growled as he looked up and saw the Batman looming over him. He quickly got to his feet and started slashing his small knife at the Dark Knight, but he dodged each move. Then with a swift movement the Batman punch the Joker right in the jaw, which begun their fist fight. The Joker laughed with every hit he got from old Batty, then he bent over slightly and got out another knife and stabbed him in the side. Batman let out a grunt and forced his elbow to come crashing down on the Joker's skull. The Joker fell to the floor and giggled as the pain pulse through his head.

23 stabbed a henchman and then snapped her head over to the Joker who was still crawling around on the floor. Her eyes slowly moved up to the Batman. Anger filled up inside her, he was once a student of Ra's Al Ghul but he betrayed him. Betray Ra's Al Ghul, betray the League of Shadows. With that thought in her mind she leaped out of the crowd and yelled a war cry as she slashed at the Batman, but he was too quick. He dove out the way and turned to face her. 23 withdrew her second sword and started spinning them in opposite directions, creating the windmill effect which caused Batman to keep his distance. The Joker stopped laughing and grumbled with annoyance that 23 had interrupted his battle with the Batman. He slowly stood up as he looked at the fighting going on around him.

23 ran at the Batman, still spinning her swords, and jumped in the air and held them both out to the left as she slashed the Batman horizontally . But again he was too quick, he ducked to the lowest he could and grabbed both of her ankles, pulling them together. Before she could lose her balance, Batman stood up and threw her down the alley to his right. As she flew through the air she scraped passed the brick buildings corner and landed with a thud as her whole body collided with the ground. She pushed herself up slowly.

As Batman was watching her get up, the Joker wrapped his arm around the Batman's neck and pulled him back so he fell to the floor, and he pushed him down forcefully. He was about to hold the knife to the Batman's throat when something caught his eye.

Past the army of thugs and policemen, further down the street, was an army of soldiers marching toward them with their trained hands with their guns. The National Guard.

"Sorry Ba**ts**, looks like we'll have to uh.. **c**u**t** this fight short," the Joker smiled down at the Batman, then ran off down the alley laughing. 23 ran towards the Joker, but he sprinted passed her.

"Fall bac**k** my dear! Fall back!" he howled with his grin still on his face. 23 looked back to the rioters who were now either running away or getting shot at. The Batman was gone. The girl's upper lip twitched with anger that she was ordered to flee, but she obeyed. She bolted down the alley, following where the Joker ran to. She climbed over a metal wire fence and kept running. There was no point in going back to the Theatre, the police were too close by to it. She couldn't go back there, not yet, not until it was clear.

She ran into a new street, this one too had the rioters running around scared. This small war had spread further then she thought it had. She didn't know where the Joker had gone but she kept running down the street with everyone else. As she ran, she looked around for any sign on where the clown was. Suddenly she stopped as she crashed into something or someone. 23 looked up to see an ageing man with glasses and a thick moustache looking down at her. He was holding a gun. It was Commissioner Gordon. 23 had to honour her order to fall back, so she turned to the nearest building and ran inside before Gordon could grab her. But this just made him run after her instead.

The building she ran to was a traditional old cinema, still in use daily. She ran through the entrance and down the corridor, her plan was to hide and wait it out, then track down the Joker. She peered through many rooms to find a good place to hide. No one seemed to be here, the fighting outside must have scared them off.

She peered through another room, this one looked almost like the stage area in the old Theatre. She walked down one of the aisles, this place was refurnished, the walls were white, the chairs weren't broken like the Theatres ones were. There was another floor above her that held more chairs. Without warning the lights went out. 23 withdrew her sword instantly. A projector turned on and projected something on the screen that all the new chairs were facing. She looked up at the cinematic lights and pictures. It fascinated her, she's never seen something quite like it before. Then the image started moving, it was a home video. There was a man and woman in what seemed like a garden next to a river. The colours of this video were faded, they were still there, but only slightly. Then 23's eyes fell onto something that the man was holding... A baby?

"Anna?" Gordon's voice echoed through out the screening room. 23 spun herself to where the noise came from. "Anna is your name isn't it?" his voice echoed from somewhere else, she turned her body again to the sound and breathed heavy through her nostrils as she glared at the shadows.

"My name is 23," she answered in the monotone voice. She held her sword tightly.

"That's not a name, that's a number," Gordon's voice was full of sincerity, "You're a human being... Not an object to be counted." He continued as his voice seemed to fly across the room.

"My name is 23," she repeated as she kept her eye on where the sound kept jumping to.

"Anna Lora, daughter of George Lora and Bianca Fields. Address, 1183 Webster Street... Gotham." Gordon looked down at a file in his hand, he adjusted his glasses in the dark.

"My name is 23!" she yelled as her eyes furiously searched the darkness.

"It's okay Anna, you're safe here. I'm not going to hurt you," Gordon reassured but she didn't answer. Gordon stayed in the dark, throwing his voice around for his safety. He was aware of what she could do. He wanted to get through to her before she decides to attack. "I've done some research on you Anna. This video was from years ago, you can't be more than 2 years old." He watched the video of the woman waving the child's hand to the camera. "You're parents died in a fire when you were 5 years old. It was assumed that you died too... I'm guessing that's when Ra's Al Ghul kidnapped y..." Gordon explained.

"I was saved." 23 simply stated. "Ra's Al Ghul saved me," she slowly turned her head to face the screen.

"Is that what he told you?" Gordon walked out of the shadows from under the screen. 23 jumped back and held her sword up at him. "Anna..." Gordon sighed, "23, let me help you. You don't need Ra's Al Ghul... Or the Joker. I can help you have that again..." he looked up at the screen. "Please?" Gordon gave a humble smile as he stepped forwards towards the girl.

There was a silence. 23's eyes flickered to the video of the family then back down to the man in front of her. She lowered her sword and stood up straight, her eyes were fixed on Gordon. She sighed, looked down and put her sword back in it's sheath that was on her belt. Her hand stayed on her belt and she slowly looked back up at the man. Her eyes watched the video and saw the baby smile. She looked into Gordon's eyes. Gordon couldn't read her, she was showing no emotion what so ever.

Without warning, 23 grabbed hold of something from her belt and flung it towards Gordon with such speed that he didn't have time to dive out the way. It collided with him and he fell back and crashed into the wall behind him. It echoed through the building as he slid down the wall and sat on the floor limply. 23 stood up and straightened herself out. She walked up to Gordon, looked down at him then up to the screen. She withdrew her sword while she spun around, causing the sword to slice through the paper thin screen. Then the girl knelt down in front of Gordon and admired her work. She had thrown a dagger at him, the dagger had stabbed him in the forehead and it was still stuck there. She pulled it out with a sickening crack, stood up whilst cleaning the dagger and walked away.

The room was silent again as she left the building. The video continued to play while there was a slice through it, creating a line of shadow through the smiling family. Gordon's lifeless body sat beneath it, his eyes were open and looking at nothing.

The woman in the video waved at the camera, as did the man. Then she waved the babies hand again as the child smiled and silently laughed.

…

**OMG! That was intense! I enjoyed writing that! Tell me what you thought of it pretty please with sugar on top! I'm getting worried that no one's REVIEWING... I hope you guys like the story... If not, why not? I really don't mind criticism, in fact I welcome it. So please just take a couple of seconds to write a review. Pretty pleaseeee! :)**


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